Frequently Asked Questions

For most of us, homelessness is difficult to understand. To be without a job, without resources, without life’s basic necessities, without family and friends, is beyond our comprehension. But understanding the problem of homelessness is a critical first step to providing lasting solutions. That’s why we’ve provided answers to some of the basic questions many of us share.

At Open Door Mission, we believe in coming alongside people experiencing homelessness and poverty, empathizing with their situation and speaking truth into their lives—that they are worthy, valued and created in the image of God. It’s our passion, our calling. And we’ve been doing it, thanks to partners like you, since 1954.

In 2019, Open Door Mission made an impact by:

Providing 201,698 nights of safe shelter.

Serving 1.74 million nutritious meals to feed the hungry.

Empowering 315,917 individuals to remain in their own homes and prevent homelessness.

The national PIT count undercounts the number of people experiencing homelessness by a significant margin. The discrepancies grow when you realize that HUD and the Department of Education do not use the same definition of homelessness. There are so many gaps in the data. If we truly wanted accuracy – why are we counting in the last 10 days of January rather than summer months and not using the same definitions. I believe a gap analysis would identify specific services our cities are lacking; emergency shelter, mental health services, homelessness prevention, street outreach, subsidized permanent housing, and permanent supportive housing. ***Disclaimer: The Open Door Mission does NOT receive government funds BUT many of our partners do and when funds are not available and based on inaccurate numbers it HURTS our neediest and most vulnerable neighbors that we love and serve.

Sheltering the homeless: These 48 major US cities face growing homeless populations

The U.S. homeless population grew in 2018 for the second straight year. New York City is among the biggest cities with the most unsheltered homeless.

While new tax cuts went into effect last year, many provisions relating to charitable giving remain intact. Most prominently, qualifying donors can still make direct transfers to charities from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) without first having to recognize the distribution as income.

People over 70 1/2 years old are required to make minimum yearly distributions from their retirement accounts – distributions that are taxed by the government. But qualifying donors are still allowed to give up to $100,000 per year from these accounts to charity, which counts toward the minimum disbursement, without being taxed. You may make tax-free transfers from your IRA or Roth IRA if:

You are 70 1/2 years or older

Your cumulative tax-free transfers to charity do not exceed $100,000 per tax year (married couples can donate up to $200,000 per year).

Your tax-free transfers are made directly from your IRA or Roth IRA to a qualified public charity, like Open Door Mission, and NOT to donor-advised funds, supporting organizations or private foundations.

Transfers completed by December 31, 2019 will be free of federal income tax this year, and such gifts qualify for the 2019 required minimum distribution from donors’ IRAs. Please act now to support Open Door Mission – and to fulfill your own charitable goals – by taking advantage of the planning options available to you.

If you would like us to coordinate with your fund custodian a direct transfer of funds from your IRA or Roth IRA to Open Door Mission, please contact our Chief Financial Officer, Mike Johnson, at mjohnson@opendoormission.org.

Thank you for considering this excellent charitable-giving opportunity!

The Open Door Mission team is praying for those directly affected by the recent flooding. We have provided from our storehouse – linens, blankets, diapers, and bottled water to agencies providing direct contact with those in need. Open Door Mission’s 3 – Outreach Centers are listed with United Way’s 2-1-1 Helpline in homeless prevention services as well as for those in need of resources. If you have been displaced by the flood or know someone who has, please click the get help button. Thanks to the generosity of the community, we provide groceries, diapers, toiletry kits, hygiene items, bottled water, household items, gently used toys, clothing, furniture, and appliances, etc. for free.

In 2018, Open Door Mission graduated 47 men and women from life-changing programs. Bringing a homeless person off the street into a stable environment easily saved the public some $35,000 per student1 (a 2017 total of $1,855,000) and will produce an additional $21,745 in projected taxpayer savings and increased income taxes for the 92% that maintain job readiness and sobriety2 (here a weighted total of $1,065,505). The compiled savings in 2017? $2,920,505.

1This figure is on the low end of recent estimates. In 2012, HUD Secretary Shaun Donavan placed the cost of a homeless person at $40,000 a year. Phil Mangano, who served in the second Bush administration as its homelessness czar, conducted a survey of 65 cities and found that the cost ranged from $35,000 up to $150,000 per homeless person per year. We are calculating savings with the lower end figure.

Open Door Mission cannot act as though the opening of a casino within a ten-minute walk of our campus would have no effect on the people we serve. The irony of the fact that we’re making this statement during Problem Gambling Awareness Month is not lost on the men, women, and children who come to us for help every day.

Many panhandlers in the greater Omaha area are not homeless, and often bring home more money per day than those who are employed at a regular job. But it is costly to support panhandlers, whether or not they are homeless. Beyond those panhandlers who live through misrepresenting themselves, panhandlers who are actually homeless often have co-occurring addictions. The money a well-meaning person might give them almost inevitably ends up supporting a drug or alcohol addiction that can cost the public through an addicted panhandler’s visit to the emergency room, or in jail for a misdemeanor committed under the influence.

Open Door Mission encourages the community at large to join in the Compassion Movement in two ways:

Browse through our Volunteer Opportunities and help out today.

For resources to help homeless individuals on the streets, request your Compassion Cards. These contain vital information about the first steps to get out of homelessness. Give a hand up, not a hand out!